You have good taste Canty, voting for the 2 involved with Guts in the greatest love triangle of all time.

Seriously though, I love the way that Skully and Zodd both parallel Guts in certain ways and how they've both watched over him throughout the series. Either one of them is always there for the major moments in Berserk, sometimes both are there fighting each other. They're nearly father figures for Guts, or maybe grandpa figures? Okay, I don't know if I'd put it that way, but I think you guys know what i mean

... Zodd was an exciting choice the first time around and I deleted my vote and went with Guts because I got reminded of what I liked about Guts and with a serious poll, I went for him. When things got fun, I went back to picking Zodd. You make a good points about him and SK. Both of them have such little manga-time and yet their significance to the story is massive. Zodd fighting alongside Guts versus Ganishka, taking care of Wyald situation, hill of swords, and then him having exclusive fighting rights (among other Apostles) against SK is pretty epic.

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At the end of time, a moment will come when just one man remains. Then the moment will pass. Man will be gone. There will be nothing to show that we were ever here... but stardust.

I had a hard time choosing Skullknight. I love everything about Zodd and his way of life but ultimately he is still a bastard that sacrificed his loved ones, I cant accept that and one day I hope he will pay for that with his life. Hopefully by the DS or Skullknights sword.

Then there are the God Hand and Void in particular, again I guess I'm simple like that but I can never side/favorite with pure evil and together with Femto those two are the ones I'd most likely wanna see show true fear at some point, if they are still/will ever be capable of showing those emotions.

I almost voted for I'm afraid I would be like him if I was in the Berserk universe, I can totally relate to his feelings ha ha.

Rickert... I love the little fella. Like a lot of the characters introduced in the series that didn't really get a chance to stick around I'm fascinated to see where the story takes him. Being the only other surviving member of the Hawks, and with the recent developments in the story, I think it's a safe bet he's going to be picking up bigger and bigger roles as time passes. Even if he doesn't, he seems to embody some of my favorite characteristics in my other favorites such as Guts and Judo.

Serpico grew on me without even realizing it. A few months ago someone pointed out certain aspects of Serpico I think I had been glossing over for some time. It's weird but those things stuck with me and I genuinely think he's one of the coolest and most interesting characters in the story now.

After a lot of thought and mind-changing I went with Casca and Schierke. They are my two favorite 'characters' next to Guts, whom I did not vote for simply because he's always going to be on the top of that poll anyway, so I give my love to not one but two others. Zodd and SK were both on the list for me at some point, but after consideration I realized that Zodd, despite being totally awesome and badass, is not a particularly "deep" or "round" character(his character/story and motivation can be outlined in 3 to 4 sentences, and he's yet to show any kind of moral conflict. Siding with Guts against Ganishka was great, but still I don't see him ever doing a full-on faction-change), and SK would have only been my pick because I WANT to see him in the story the most. Meaning that when SK shows up, pivotal plot movement is taking place. Almost every word that comes out of SK's mouth... er... helmet? ...tells us something we didn't know. But that's not a reflection of his character. He's awesome and I'd trade ten Guts scenes for one SK scene any day, but He's not my favorite character. Valiant knights out for justice are cool, but not uncommon. This could EASILY change with concrete revelations about who he was in the past (History between him and Void/Slan for example.)

Griffith was a definite choice at first too, but lately its hard to tell exactly who Griffith is. He has almost no personality at this point, and unlike in the early volumes, now he has no passion/motivation that we're certainly aware of. I watch him now and its like he's just going through the motions. He hasn't appeared to be 'passionate' in one scene, save maybe for the moment when he called for his demon army to attack, and then rallied the humans to help on the battlefield against Ganishka. Pre-vol. 12 he acted out a lot of things too, smiles, glad-handing nobles, appearing as he ought to to gain respect, etc. But there were scenes like the first duel with Guts, saving Guts from Zodd, or the assassination of the queen (this is when he became one of my favorite characters ever) where his honest character came through and it was amazing. I haven't seen that side of him in a long long time now.

Zodd and SK were both on the list for me at some point, but after consideration I realized that Zodd, despite being totally awesome and badass, is not a particularly "deep" or "round" character(his character/story and motivation can be outlined in 3 to 4 sentences, and he's yet to show any kind of moral conflict. Siding with Guts against Ganishka was great, but still I don't see him ever doing a full-on faction-change), and SK would have only been my pick because I WANT to see him in the story the most. Meaning that when SK shows up, pivotal plot movement is taking place. Almost every word that comes out of SK's mouth... er... helmet? ...tells us something we didn't know. But that's not a reflection of his character. He's awesome and I'd trade ten Guts scenes for one SK scene any day, but He's not my favorite character. Valiant knights out for justice are cool, but not uncommon. This could EASILY change with concrete revelations about who he was in the past (History between him and Void/Slan for example.)

Just to quickly comment on what you said (not disputing your choices), I think you're being a bit unfair with Zodd and SK here. Although Zodd is an apostle and so is by definition going to fit in certain categories, he's been given some surprising depth at times. It's remained light so far, but the foundations for later developments are definitely there. Be it his past and his relationship to the Skull Knight, his attitude towards other apostles, the God Hand and associated events, or his actions towards Guts, there's more to him than meets the eye. And so I believe his assumed status as an important character will be justified with more than enough depth in the end, even without having to change factions.

Same thing for the Skull Knight, I think you're selling him a bit short by reducing him to a "valiant knight out for justice". Even without having definite answers yet it's pretty clear that he's got pivotal background information waiting to be revealed.

Griffith was a definite choice at first too, but lately its hard to tell exactly who Griffith is. He has almost no personality at this point, and unlike in the early volumes, now he has no passion/motivation that we're certainly aware of. I watch him now and its like he's just going through the motions. He hasn't appeared to be 'passionate' in one scene [...] I haven't seen that side of him in a long long time now.

While I totally understand how you feel, the reason is that "Griffith", as in the human Griffith that was shown to us during the Golden Age arc, doesn't exist anymore. He was reborn as Femto during the Occultation ceremony, and although Femto has since then acquired a body of flesh that conveniently bears the guise of his old self, he is definitely not the man he once was. His goals, motives, feelings, etc. are all different now, and the reason we get (almost) no insight into his mind is so that it remains alien to us.

While I totally understand how you feel, the reason is that "Griffith", as in the human Griffith that was shown to us during the Golden Age arc, doesn't exist anymore. He was reborn as Femto during the Occultation ceremony, and although Femto has since then acquired a body of flesh that conveniently bears the guise of his old self, he is definitely not the man he once was. His goals, motives, feelings, etc. are all different now, and the reason we get (almost) no insight into his mind is so that it remains alien to us.

Just to quickly comment on what you said (not disputing your choices), I think you're being a bit unfair with Zodd and SK here. Although Zodd is an apostle and so is by definition going to fit in certain categories, he's been given some surprising depth at times. It's remained light so far, but the foundations for later developments are definitely there.

I want to know so much more about both of them, but mystery isn't a compelling character aspect for me. If it were I would have voted for Rakshas who is the character-equivalent of a giant question mark. Who knows what the fuck he's up to. When I think of 'character' I think of story, of personality, of motivation for actions. I can't say what SK's story is for sure or where his motivation comes from. The same can be said with far more certainty about Zodd. Zodd may not even have a compelling story prior to becoming an apostle. His motivations are 1. Seek strong warriors with whom to do battle, and 2. Serve Griffith. The reason he serves Griffith could either be that he's an apostle, and under the spell of Griffith's uncanny ability to rally others to his cause, or just that Griffith defeated him (much the same as he defeated Guts) and claimed him for servitude. Come to think of it he's the only apostle Griffith had to physically dominate in some way prior to recruitment.(.....) Anyway, Zodd is DEFINITELY not just another apostle. He is a big part of the story and there's so much more to come from him. I just have no idea what at this point, and no good reason to count him as my 'favorite' character. You can be assured though that the moment he questions the God Hand or Griffith, or shows just a little bit of personality, I'm changing BOTH my answers to Zodd because I think he's fucking awesome, and I'd love to believe he isn't just a tool of causality.

I'd love to know more about both of them, and I can't wait til I do, but for now I find more compelling characters in both Casca and Schierke.

I pondered for quite a while before finally deciding on what to vote for: in the end, I went for Guts and Griffith. It rarely happens that I find both the main protagonist and the main antagonist of a story to be immensely interesting characters. And in Berserk they both really are so. In a way, the drrrama between those two is the backbone of the whole story.

I voted for Serpico even though he's probably the most static character recently. My fondness for him really grew back in the heyday when he was challenging Guts. Plus he's had some awesome moments such as with the kelpie and croc familiars. My 2nd vote was hard to cast so I went with the easy and obvious choice of Guts. Too many characters I'd love to vote for though.

I guess it's obvious who got my first vote if you looked at my avatar and signature and still aren't sure, then yes, SilatAs for the second, I found it hard to decide between Farnese and Casca, and I choose the latter. First I wanted to vote for Farnese, I think it's because she's the only "active" woman in the story at the moment, so the only character I can relate to. But if I had to choose between her and pre-Eclipse Casca... well, Casca won my vote, because being insane at the moment doesn't make her past self less awesome and badass.

Now I ride with the mocking and friendly ghouls on the night windAnd play by day in the catacombsI know that light is not for me, save that of the moonYet in my new wildness and freedom I welcome the bitterness of alienageFor I know always that I am an outsider...an outsider...stranger in this century...for a timeA stranger among those who are still...men

Indeed. I've never liked Griffith from the moment he was introduced. Long live SK!

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Now I ride with the mocking and friendly ghouls on the night windAnd play by day in the catacombsI know that light is not for me, save that of the moonYet in my new wildness and freedom I welcome the bitterness of alienageFor I know always that I am an outsider...an outsider...stranger in this century...for a timeA stranger among those who are still...men

My taste tends to go with the characters that appear as the most complex. So my votes went to Guts and Griffith...of course Honorable mention goes to Farnese who I find to be underrated considering she is probably the third character within Berserk with the biggest story arc.